Learn About Trucks Lesson Plans

Circle Time: All About Trucks

Encourage a discussion on various types of trucks used for transportation in the city, on the farm and on the highways. Ask the children to bring a toy truck for show and tell. Show pictures of trucks used in the city, such as garbage trucks, fire trucks, ambulances, buses or trolleys. In the rural areas, and on the farm, tractors, dump trucks and pick up trucks are used often. On the highways, motor homes, tractor-trailers, moving vans and school buses are seen. Trucks are important to transport food to the grocery stores, move the earth to make roads or rescue people in an emergency.

Read the story, I Love Trucks by Philemon Sturges.

Activity: Movement

Get the children moving with this interactive exercise. Instruct the children on how they are to do this activity. Tell them they will be first rolling their heads, the shoulders, then the arms to the music. They will then get on the floor and roll back and forth. When the music stops, they will stand and stretch as they roll their heads, shoulders and arms again to cool down. Turn on the music to the traditional children's song, "The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round" and begin the activity. This will not only be a lesson in movement, but also emphasizes listening skills.

Phonics: Rhyming Words

As you say a word, write it on the chalkboard, to teach word recognition. For example, say and write the word "truck", call on a child to give a rhyming word, write the word directly under "truck" and underline the rhyming letters. Continue collecting words and add to the list words such as van, bus, until each child has had a turn. As you each word called out, ask the child to name the vowel.

Numbers:

Use the flashcards to review the numbers that are being learned, such as 30-40's number family. As a child answers, he or she then "drives" to the front of the class and points to the correct number on the number chart, then "drives" back to their seat.

Art:

On the easels, let the children paint with the wheels of toy trucks. Encourage them to create a painting using the tracks. Have available aprons, toy trucks, assorted paint colors and easels.

Suggested reading:

I Stink! by Kate and Jim Mcmullan

Curious George at the Fire Station by Margret and H.A. Rey

School Bus by Donald Crews

I Love Trucks! by Phileman Sturges

This post is part of the series: Kindergarten Transportation Unit

This is a 5 part series of lessons on transportation for kindergarten that focuses on the airplane and helicopter, boats, trains, trucks and cars.